IJIV 07

Chapter 7

[Contractor! Wake up!]

Harry’s urgent voice rang in my head, pulling me from a deep sleep.

‘Wake up? Is it already morning?’

I lifted my heavy eyelids and looked around, but the room was still dark.

‘What? It’s still night.’

Annoyed, I pushed Harry, who had pressed up close beside me. But trying to push away such a large, heavy dog was useless.

[Wake up! Someone’s in the parlor!]

[Who would come at this hour?]

[That’s exactly why it’s strange! Isn’t it an assassin? Hurry and get up!]

[An assassin? Why would anyone like that come to me?]

I reached out and patted Harry’s body, as if calming a sulky child.

[It’s probably just your imagination. So go back to sleep, Harry.]

[There’s no way I’m imagining this! I’m Teoharis, the Blue Wizard!]

[Yes, I know you’re a great wizard. Now go back to sleep.]

[Agh, really!]

Giving up on persuading me, Harry jumped off the bed. I heard the light patter of his paws heading toward the parlor.

‘Finally gave up.’

I felt triumphant for winning the battle against Harry and tried to drift back into deep sleep. Or at least, I tried.

“Eek!”

A short scream came from the parlor. That scream shot through my ears, instantly waking me.

‘Could it really be… an assassin?’

Thinking carefully, there were more than a few people who might want to get rid of Ebria.

‘Could it be something from Katherine’s people?’

It made sense. Some had been upset when Ebria cut off their timber trades. It was plausible that someone might send an assassin to remove her entirely.

‘Or Luke?’

As head of the information guild that controlled the underworld, sending an assassin would be no problem for him.

‘It must be Luke.’

I reached that conclusion and slowly got up. I didn’t feel any real sense of danger.

‘The great Blue Flame Wizard is my pet. What is there to worry about? All I have to do is wish to be saved.’

I leisurely stepped off the bed, tiptoeing toward the parlor.

Already, Harry was growling fiercely, standing off against someone. The problem was that the person fumbling in front of him looked incredibly familiar.

‘…That’s Emma.’

“I-I’ll give this to you, so please be quiet.”

Emma trembled as she held out some chicken to Harry. She must have prepared it after realizing there was a dog in my room.

Harry stopped growling and stared at the chicken.

‘If Harry were really a dog, this would be a very effective bribe.’

Unfortunately, he was a demon pretending to be a dog.

‘Of course he wouldn’t fall for something like chicken…’

Yet, to my surprise, Harry took the chicken—and very politely at that.

‘He’s really giving in just for chicken?’

I was stunned.

[Harry! How can you fall for that!]

[You haven’t eaten anything since you were summoned by me. What choice do I have when I’m hungry?]

[That doesn’t mean you eat the chicken! Not at this moment!]

[Who told you to work me while starving?]

[I didn’t know demons eat three meals a day.]

[Now you know, so remember it.]

Harry ignored my scolding and focused on his chicken. He ate it so deliciously that just watching him made me hungry too.

“Good. You eat well.”

While Harry and I struggled, Emma let out a small sigh of relief and murmured quietly. She must have realized Harry wouldn’t cause trouble, because she started moving.

But she wasn’t heading toward my room.

Emma walked to the fireplace on one side of the parlor. She stared at the blazing flames, then clenched her lips and lowered herself with a determined expression.

I saw the lamp in her hand and understood her intention.

‘She’s trying to take the fire?’

Carefully transferring the flames from the fireplace to the lamp’s wick, she confirmed my suspicion.

‘Harry made a fuss and needlessly worried me.’

I relaxed instantly and chuckled, approaching Emma.

‘I should ask for a little snack while I’m at it.’

Now fully awake and smelling roasted chicken, my stomach rumbled.

“Emma.”

“Kyaaa!”

As soon as I called her, Emma let out a huge scream.

“Ah!”

“Eeek! What is this all of a sudden!”

Startled, I also let out a scream, but the deep voice that came out of me drowned it out. Only one person here could make such a deep voice.

I turned to see Harry, who had dropped his chicken and stared wide-eyed at me. I felt more bewildered than surprised.

[Harry, you just said ‘Eeek’ and ‘What is this all of a sudden’ even though you’re a dog?]

Harry avoided my eyes, as if aware of his mistake.

[…I was surprised too. It was unavoidable. You screamed too!]

[I’m human, so that’s fine. Harry’s a demon. Demons shouldn’t do that.]

[You seem to have a weird prejudice against demons. Aside from being strong and cool, demons aren’t much different from humans!]

[Don’t subtly brag about yourself in this situation.]

I sighed deeply and looked at Emma. She was sitting on the floor, wide-eyed, completely stunned. Surely, she was shocked by Harry’s voice.

‘Carrying a talking animal. Anyone would think she’s a witch.’

I glared at Harry in exasperation.

[How do we fix this?]

[Um… let’s say it was your voice.]

[Would she believe that?]

[Then should I just kill her? That’s easiest. You keep your secret, I get my fun. How about it?]

He said it with sparkling eyes and sincerity.

[Stop spouting nonsense.]

I clicked my tongue in my head and ignored him. As expected, Harry was no help.

‘Looks like cleaning up is entirely my responsibility.’

“Emma.”

I cautiously called her name, and she immediately flinched and pressed herself to the floor.

“P-please forgive me!”

“Forgive you?”

I tilted my head, confused. Why would Emma be trembling and asking for forgiveness in this situation?

‘Is it like… sorry for hearing a strange voice?’

Blinking in confusion, Emma lowered her head more desperately.

“I’m sorry! Truly, I’ve committed a mortal sin!”

‘Mortal sin? For what…?’

“I didn’t do it on purpose. The situation was too desperate, and the temptation was too strong. Please have mercy. I won’t steal again.”

“Steal?”

Ebria’s room was indeed the kind a thief would covet.

‘Even selling one decoration from this room would bring a fortune.’

But Emma was Ebria’s maid. If anything disappeared, suspicion would immediately fall on her.

‘She doesn’t seem foolish enough to get caught so easily.’

Just by her appearance and manners, Emma was well-educated. Since the Duke’s daughter had come, he likely assigned the smartest maid in the house to avoid trouble.

Even so, the fact that Emma tried to steal meant the situation was that desperate.

I crouched down, rested my chin on my hand, and asked her.

“What exactly were you trying to take?”

“P-please forgive me… I swear this will never happen again…”

I raised a hand to stop her.

“No. Enough with asking for forgiveness.”

“Hiiik.”

Emma’s face went pale at my words.

‘She must have interpreted it as “I’ll never forgive you—be prepared!”’

My villainous expression had the remarkable ability to make any words sound threatening, mocking, or sarcastic. I quickly tried to convey my intention before her misunderstanding deepened.

“Just take it. Whatever it is.”

“…What?”

“What you were trying to take—take it. I’ll just give it to you.”

“…Really?”

Emma was completely stunned, but I shrugged and looked around.

Everything sparkled and looked beautiful.

‘But…’

“Whatever you were trying to take, it’s probably not very valuable to me.”

It might hold real value to Ebria, as a gift or a childhood memory, but to me, none of it mattered. The only value was its price, and Ebria had plenty of expensive things.

‘Giving one to Emma won’t make a dent.’

If these meaningless things were desperate enough for Emma to risk something, I could just hand them over. I had more than enough.

“So I’ll just give it. Take it.”

And I could use it as a bribe to have Harry ignore my scream.

‘A very reasonable deal.’

I admired my own plan. Of course, my laugh would look villainously sly.

“Are you really going to give this to me?”

Emma asked doubtfully. I nodded firmly to give her confidence, and her eyes filled with hope.

“You’re really going to give me the fire?”

“Yes. I’ll give it to you. The fire…”

As I nodded generously, I realized something seemed off.

“What? The fire?”

Not artwork, not silver candlesticks, not jewels—but fire?

“You came to steal… fire?”

Seeing me repeat my question in disbelief, Emma’s hope quickly vanished.

“So I can’t take it after all.”

She slumped with a dejected look. Seeing her give up so fast left me dumbfounded. Just to steal fire? And she apologized as if she’d committed a mortal sin? Ridiculous.

‘Why didn’t she just say she needed the fire? I thought she came to steal jewels or something.’

I picked up the lamp and candle Emma had dropped. Lighting the candle and placing it inside the lamp, the fire blazed, illuminating the darkness.

“Here. Take it.”

I handed the lamp to Emma. She hesitated before taking it.

“You came for the fire, right?”

“But… is it really this easy to get it?”

“Of course. It’s just fire.”

“But it’s the mysterious fire that burns Black Ironwood.”

“Even so… it’s still just fire.”

Giving it to someone didn’t reduce my share. If someone needed it, I could freely give it.

‘Also, earlier the butler took fire to distribute during the day. What about that?’

“The Baron ordered that the fire not leave the mansion. Even within the mansion, fire was only given where necessary, so maids like me couldn’t approach it.”

I understood the situation. The Baron controlled the fire carefully. Emma wanted to take it from my room, where she wouldn’t be noticed.

‘The question is why the Baron wants to control the fire…’

I couldn’t figure it out.

‘Wouldn’t it be better if everyone in the territory had fire and stayed warm?’

Though nobles usually don’t share, the Baron didn’t seem like that type.

‘There must be a reason. But could it be more important than his own people freezing?’

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand the complex reasoning of someone managing an estate.

I gave up and stood up, holding the lamp.

“Get up, Emma. Let’s go now.”

“Where?”

“Where? To where the fire is needed.”

“If it’s somewhere the fire is needed…”